Sunday, May 15, 2011

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Been a while since we posted. Not that we haven't been baking, we've just been neglecting the blog. So-- renewal of blogging shall now commence. Updates of our other baking adventures will be posted shortly. Or at least that's the plan.

So-- Black Bottom Cupcakes. This is a recipe that Elkie wanted to try to a while, so now we did. They. Are.Were. Are. Awesome.

Make the filling: Beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate pieces. Set aside.

Make the cupcakes:1. Adjust the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 12-cup muffin tin, or line the tin with paper muffin cups.2. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring until just smooth. Stir any longer and you will over mix the batter and end up with less-than-tender cupcakes.4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Spoon a few tablespoons* of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling evenly. This will fill the cups almost completely,** which is fine.5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed. These moist treats will keep well unrefrigerated for 2 to 3 days if stored in an airtight container.

-We used Israeli cocoa; we don't know if it Dutch processed cocoa or not, but the cupcakes came out flat-topped

-We baked it on 180°C for more than 25 minutes-- closer to 30-35. They were raw-ish after 25-27 minutes, so we put them back in.

-Lauren accidentally added vanilla to the filling. Don't know if it changed anything, but it tasted good.

-It says you can fill the cupcake cups almost or totally all the way. We did about 80% full and they were over the top (but not overflowing) and overflowing. We recommend filling them about 70% full, no more. Unless you want overflowing, in which case-- fill away.

Before baking:

After baking:

All in all, these were good but we don't plan on making them again. The texture was weird. Maybe when we're in America and can buy definitely non-Dutch processed cocoa and Philadelphia cream cheese that's not the equivalent of $8/box-- then we'll see.